Yale wins Women’s Team Race Nationals

Yale University walked away victorious in the inaugural Inter-Collegiate Sailing Association (ICSA) Women’s Team Race National Championship, held April 23-24 in Providence, RI. Among the 12 teams competing from across the USA, the Yale Bulldogs finished with a 13-3 overall record.

“The addition of the Women’s Team Race National Championship shows the commitment of the ICSA to women’s sailing,” said ICSA President, Mitch Brindley. “Most college sailing teams focus their training and practice during the busy spring season on team race skills and tactics.

“It was becoming more evident that we needed more competitive opportunities for our women’s sailors in team racing. And it is evident that this new championship has inspired teams to push for greater development of their women’s roster.”

First-year Yale skippers Mia Nicolosi, Emma Cowles, and Carmen Cowles set the pace, supported by experienced crews – Meredith Ryan ’23 and Ximena Escobar ’25 (sailing with Mia Nicolosi), Anisha Arcot ’23 and Helena Ware ’23 (sailing with Emma Cowles), and Becca Rose ’22 and Megan Grimes ’24 (sailing with Carmen Cowles).

“This regatta is such an important moment for the ICSA,” noted Yale Head Coach Zack Leonard. “The level of sailing was very high.”

Carmen Cowles added, “Women’s team racing is important as it provides greater opportunities for women to learn and compete at a high level. Some teams might not have the depth nor space to have women compete on the coed team race circuit. This opportunity also encourages more women to sail and overall, it raises the bar.”

A dying and uncertain northerly occupied the race course on the first day before sunny skies and warm temperatures gave way to a 12–16 knot sea-breeze from the south. The wind and waves presented challenging conditions for the team racers, and it was clear a prowess for sailing the boats in breeze needed to be coupled with solid team racing to find success.

While second-place-finishing Boston College and third place Stanford seemed to be the two teams in closest contention to the eventual victors, it was the home team, Brown, who controlled the regatta following the first day racing (after 56 races).

Yale began the event with four straight wins before faltering to Dartmouth in race 25. Brown began the event with three straight wins and a loss to Stanford before finishing the first day with a five-race win streak.

The second day began with light air but enough to get some racing in, and Brown continued their winning ways with a win over Yale, strengthening their hold on the regatta, and a win over University of South Florida to finish the first round with a 10-1 record.

However, the Bears stumbled in the top-6 round finishing with a 1-4 record and an overall record of 11-5, enough for a fourth-place finish.

“We had two injuries that caused our season to be really challenging,” said Leonard. “The team was really great at sticking together and supporting each other. Each sailor worked hard to fulfill their role to the best of their ability and each of them played a big role. It was truly a team effort.”

Boston College finished 2nd with a 12-4 record, winning a tie-break against Stanford due to a 2-0 head to head record against the Cardinal. BC’s success came behind Sophia Reineke’s ’22 experience on the team race course and the quickness of sophomores Colleen and Michaela O’Brien.

BC, like Yale sailed six crews – Nicole Moeder ’22, Elizabeth Shanahan ’23, Katelyn McGauley ’24, Lilly Mathieu ’23, Laura Ferraris ’22, and Emma Batcher ’22.

Stanford finished 3rd at 12-4 with skippers Michelle Lahrkamp, Hannah Freeman, and Steph Houck with crews Trish Gerli, Sammy Pickell, Abby Tindall, Gwen Donahue, and Grace Austin.

Details: https://scores.collegesailing.org/s22/women-team-race-national/

Source: Chris Klevan